After Meeting with Trump, CEO Says Boeing Will Cut Costs On Air Force One: "We’re going to get it done for less ..."

(Source: Western Journalism.com; posted Dec 21, 2016)

by Jack Davis

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said Boeing Corp. would reduce its price for a new Air Force One and that he was doing “a dance” with Lockheed Martin over the high-priced F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

Trump had earlier taken to Twitter to castigate both defense contractors for the high costs of the aircraft they were producing for the government.

The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.

“We’re going to get it done for less than that, and we’re committed to working together to make sure that happens,” Muilenburg said after his meeting with Trump. “I was able to give the president-elect my personal commitment on behalf of the Boeing Company.”

President-elect Donald Trump met with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg where the two shared a 'open' dialogue,' just weeks after a public flap over the cost of the Air Force One project, AP reported Dec. 21 (AP video)

“This is a business that’s important to us. We work on Air Force One because it’s important to our country and we’re going to make sure that he gets the best capability and that it’s done affordably,” he said.

“We’re all focused on the same thing here,” Muilenburg said. “We’re going to make sure that we give our war fighters the best capability in the world and that we do it in a way that is affordable for our taxpayers. And [Trump’s] business head set around that is excellent. It was a terrific conversation — got a lot of respect for him. He’s a good man. And he’s doing the right thing.”

Trump did not have a Lockheed announcement to twin with his comments about Boeing. (Lockheed Martin later issued a statement: see below--Ed.)

“Well, we’re going to see,” he told reporters when asked about the F-35 program. “We’re going to see. Just beginning. It’s a dance. You know, it’s a little bit of a dance.”

“But we’re going to get the costs down and we’re going to get it done beautifully,” he added.

Trump praised both CEOs, saying, “These are great people. These are amazing people. I’m very impressed with them. And good negotiators, too.”

He called the F-35 “a program that is very, very expensive.”

I met some really great Air Force GENERALS and Navy ADMIRALS today, talking about airplane capability and pricing. Very impressive people!

On Wednesday, Trump also separately discussed aircraft pricing with senior military officials.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the F-35 program executive officer, defended the Joint Strike Fighter program in a briefing this week.

“I have no doubt that given the controversy on the F-35 program over the years, that there’s a perception that this program is out of control,” he said.

“That’s in the past. So, if given the opportunity, I would like to try and explain to the new administration that this is a vastly different program from 2011 on. … I’ll just lay the facts out on the table, and I’ll let them make their own judgments,” Bogdan said.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Time.com reported Dec. 21 that “Eight generals and admirals, and the Pentagon’s top civilian procurer, met with Trump for more than two hours Wednesday to discuss ongoing and future defense contracts,” in addition to the Boeing and Lockheed CEOs.
“Military officials brought scale models of the three F-35 variants as part of their presentation. General Carlton Everhart was holding a binder with a photo of Air Force One on the cover as he walked into the club,” it added.)

(ends)

Lockheed Martin CEO's Statement on Meeting with President-elect Trump

(Source: Lockheed Martin; issued Dec. 21, 2016)

BETHESDA, Md. --- "I had a productive meeting with President-elect Trump this afternoon. I appreciated the opportunity to discuss the importance of the F-35 program and the progress we've made in bringing the costs down.

The F-35 is a critical program to our national security, and I conveyed our continued commitment to delivering an affordable aircraft to our U.S. military and our allies."

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 98,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.